We hired Excel painting for the entire interior of our home, and had an awesome experience from start to finish. Welmer and his team were highly skilled, experienced, fast, efficient and super pro. Everything happened to spec, on time and budget. They did a fantastic job and our house looks beautiful. I'm going to miss them being in our house next week :) Highest recommendation.
Sand the trim with a fine-grit sanding sponge. Sponges get into crevices where sandpaper can’t go and let you apply even pressure. Then apply the ﬁrst coat of paint, let it dry at least 24 hours, lightly sand it again for a completely smooth surface, and apply the second coat. After each sanding, vacuum the trim, then wipe it down with a tack cloth to remove the dust.
My house is a mess. Virtually everything needs serious work. Dixon gives me the confidence to tackle one project after another. His writing style is straightforward, reassuring, inspirational. He tells you everything you need to know to complete a job and be happy with it. Every painstaking stage of prep, helpful tips on additives, priming, carrying out each stage of painting process under every possible circumstance. I borrowed Dixon's book from the library so often that I spent more than the cost of it on overdue fines.
To win work, contractors generally have to bid against other suppliers. To make an accurate bid, they estimate the time and materials required to complete the job. They measure the area to be painted and discuss the type of finish the customer requires. They assess the quality of the surfaces to work out how much remedial work they must carry out before painting. They might have to remove old paint or wall coverings, or repair cracks and other damage. They also calculate the cost of any essential equipment, such as scaffolding for exterior walls.

What is the definition of a painter? Is it someone that can simply pick up a brush? Perhaps a painter is someone that climbs ladders while applying paint for a living? An experienced painter may have a few larger tools and own what appears to be a paint van/truck. In many cases, a painter maybe a college student or older person doing a few projects during the summer, on the side, weekend work or attempting to paint a few local homes for extra cash? Maybe this describes exactly what you are looking for? Or, does it sound like something you want no part of? Chances are, if you seek quality, you would likely not hire this person – right? You may ask – what’s the difference? A painter is a painter! Right?

"I had tru colors paint my home office. They delivered a beautiful paint job, on time, with no issues. I have also used them in the past for having the exterior of my home painted, which was also an excellent job, delivered on time and within budget. I will be using them to have the rest of my home painted, and will most likely have trim and molding work done by them too. Highly recommended!!!"

Referred by a neighbor, I got an estimate from Excel along with two other companies to paint the exterior of our home; their estimate was the cheapest by at least a grand compared to the other companies. They contacted me a couple of weeks earlier than expected and offered to do the power washing a week or so earlier due to an opening in their schedule, another opening got them to our house 2 weeks earlier than planned to paint!!!
Receive for your contractor’s license. Once you’ve passed your licensing exam, registered your business through the proper channels and shown proof of liability insurance, you can submit an official application to receive your contractor’s license. This can be done online or by mail. Following a short review process, you’ll be issued your license, after which you can get to work securing jobs and building your business’s reputation.[20]

I’ll bring up Erick Gatcomb again, because he’s been a sounding board helping me deal with whatever the future holds: “Don’t see this as a failure; see it as 27 years of success. So many businesses don’t make it that far,” he consoled. If we’ve helped you out in some way, made a difference in your life, helped you place an article, sell a product, get more work, figure out what’s the right brush or roller, or put a smile on your face with some bad joke or other, then our mission was accomplished. If there’s anything I’ve learned over these 27, it’s that success doesn’t equal happiness so much as happiness equals success.

Picking exterior house paint colors is a lot different than picking a color for a shirt or a car. It may help to drive around to observe colors that other homeowners have combined on homes that are of similar size and design as yours. There are also online resources that provide homeowners with the ability to create virtual makeovers of their home by combining colors together through their software programs as well.

I put out a request for bids to several local house painters and quite a few seemed high. One was for over $6000 for painting the exterior of the house with putty fill as necessary, paint included. It was for him and one other guy to do the work. I said, "it's going to take you guys quite a while to get this job done" and he told me that no, they could do it in 2 days. I don't know about you but $1500 a day per painter seems more than just a bit high. I went with someone else and they had several people there for several days working like crazy and did a great job. There are too many scammers.

The perfect roller would hold a roomful of paint, leave the right amount of texture, wouldn't spray or fuzz, and would be easy to clean. Until somebody invents the ideal one, follow these tips to choose the right roller. "The longer the nap, the more paint the roller will hold, but it will also create more texture." says Dixon. "A 1/2-inch nap lamb's-wool roller holds plenty of paint without too much texture," says Dixon. "Less expensive rollers can work," says Span. "Just wash them first in dishwashing liquid to remove any stray fibers." Most of the pros we spoke with prefer 9-inch rollers over 18-inch models -- they are lighter, cheaper, and easier to use. Despite these shortcomings, Maceyunas swears by the wider roller. "The roller can do a whole wall in a few up and down strokes instead of in several dozen W and M strokes," he says.